by Gabriela Garcia Greco
Our fall retreat was absolutely beautiful, thanks especially to John and Lee Neff for lending us their amazing home. After a gorgeous ferry ride, we spent the weekend nestled in this cozy home, examining themes of discernment, future goals and fears, childbirth and parenting (who knew uteruses are bluish-purple?!). As we ate breakfast, we let in the impressive tranquility of the snow capped mountains – Rainier even briefly showed up!
Making decisions is tough in every stage of adulthood. Which career to pursue. Where to live. Should we have kids or not. What is our role as they become adults themselves. So this retreat we looked at how we make decisions, paying attention to how we feel. Perhaps one of the most comforting truths we found was that we don’t have to make these decisions alone. As long as we want our communities will surround us. We were able to explore this through poetry as well, which is one of Gabi’s favorite things to do! (shout out to Mary Oliver). Poetry often seems to be one of those soul reaching bridges between life and spirit.
It’s been about two months since we arrived in Seattle, and we have begun to settle in. We have settled into our work, our routine, our lovely house, and in the community of Quakers that surrounds us. Summer is officially gone, and fall has also settled in with its gold shimmer, the cooler breeze ruffling the copper shaded leaves. In the rush of learning a new city culture and making the most of our year here, time has flown by and almost without noticing, we have begun to make a home. This retreat was the perfect chance to reflect on these changes and the ones to come.
photo credit: Jesse Klug
